Roleplaying Help: What I should know and how I should roleplay
Before I put the guide from the forums In, I would like to say something of my own. This is JUST a guide, each character is unique, with individual backstory, personality and characteristics. This is just a little to help you understand what you should be basing your roleplay on, and what things you would expect from an average citizen. Gamer General RolePlay TnB Information (What an average RolePlayer should know) IC Chat and OOC Chat - IC Chat is what your character says. Forms of IC Chat would be: /w, /y, or just normal. To whisper so only players near you can hear use /w in front of your text. To yell so players far from you can hear use /y in front of your text. Normal IC chat has no beginning command and only players in your general area can hear. IC Chat is what you would say IRL if HL2 was real. Don’t say retarded things like: “Can I have gunz!” People think logically, would you randomly ask people for guns on the street? - OOC Chat is just normal game speak. Forms of OOC Chat would be: //, or [[. To use OOC Chat so the whole server can read use // in front of your text. To use Local-OOC Chat so only players in your general area can read use [[in front of your text. New Life Rule ''' - As stated in the “Rules” section, the NLR must be enforced. When you are killed on an IC reason, excluding DMs, you must forget what you were doing at the time you were playing. If you would like to argue the NLR contact an Admin. '''Tool Trust - ToolTrust is an application that allows you to get Toolgun. Check the Guidelines before posting. Remember that ToolTrust is for well trusted members of the community. There are two levels of ToolTrust, basic and advanced. Basic requires one RDA/SEA Recommendation or two BA/SA recommendations, giving you access to the "Weld" tool. Advanced ToolTrust gives you access to most of the standard tools, but requires four BA/SA recommendations or two RDA/SEA. Weapons and you - Remember that it doesn’t require gunfights or weapons to have “fun” in HL2RP. If you do get a weapon remember to save it because if you don’t it will be deleted and there will be no refunds. To save a weapon drop it then jump and press “e” on it. If you get a weapon, it is suggested that you roleplay maintaining it, as in, cleaning and polishing. Supply License - The Supply License allows you to purchase items. With the license you can become a merchant and run a shop. It takes 1,900 tokens to get the license and if you take a loan remember that if you do not pay the loan back the Combine will not give you any rations. Proper Grammar - Remember to always use proper grammar. TnB is an English community so it is best to use grammar. If you do not use appropriate grammar players will think you are not good at RP. Remember that players don’t care how long it takes you to type as long as you have correct grammar. Example: “Jimmy crossed the ocean.” Notice how I capitalized the letter at the beginning of the sentence and correct punctuation mark. Loans ' - Loans are tokens that you can get if you take a loan; it is up to you to pay it back. Remember the Combine will force to do work and will not give you rations if you do not pay back your loan. '''Proper Name ' - Your must use a proper name while playing TnB. Your character must have a first and last name, example: Jimmy Rewnor. If you use a celebrity name or historical name you will be asked to change it, if you do not you will be banned. http:// Advanced RolePlay TnB Information (What an experienced RolePlayer should know) '''Uses of /me - Rules: there are a couple of rules to take into consideration when you use /me. Powergaming - Powergaming is common rule to break while using /me. It occurs basically when you decide another players fate for them. - /me: The tool /me is used to create character reaction with the environment or other players.Example: : /me stares blankly out of the window looking sad. Through this you can give other players hints to your emotion such as depression. It also lets other players know what you're doing. You may need to perform actions with /me that you wouldn't be able to do with the script or gmod itself. Example: : /me stumbles on the ground dazed and coughs. -Lets say you wanted to mug someone but actually RP it and not just start punching them, well easily done with /me. Okay lets say there is a lone CP in a deserted apartment complex with a citizen hiding. If you wanted to successfully mug him you must take these into consideration: Powergaming and placement. When you go to grab/attack the CP it should look a little something like this: : /me Attempts to grab the CP by the neck Now lets take a look at the example, does it follow the rules? It is not powergaming because you have not decided the players fate for them. You have simply attempted to grab the CP. Now depending on placement, lets say the CP was facing towards you. The CP could decide to dodge/block your attack because he was facing towards you and your act of surprise was not good enough. The CP would have enough reaction time to see it coming. If the CP were to face away from you, then more chances of realistically being able to grab him. Now don't expect to win always with mugging. It pretty much depends on how well of an RPer the other person is, or how willing. Remember that winning isn’t everything, what’s more important is having fun RPing. Quote: Originally Posted by Justheretopostonce Also, remember, some actions, although /powerful/ are not power gaming. Lets say you grab the CP around the neck from behind, he could do /me quickly leans forward, sending the man over his back and towards the pavement ahead. Now note there, I did not finish the action with him hitting the ground. I left it open in case his character could some how flip and recover. You don't have to /attempt/ everything, example: /me attempts to hit the guy in the face with a quick right hook or /me winds up, then sends forth a right hook aimed for ADSFSA's jaw. What one looks better? Then he could respond /me takes the hit to the jaw, staggering, dazed, quickly pulling himself together. or /me ducks under the swing and aims a punch for his gut, thrusting quickly with surprising strength If fighting, always include what your using to cause harm (Left punch, Right kick) and where it is going (Legs, face, arms, gut) Now if you feel like more passive, remember, more /me's DO NOT MEAN MORE PASSIVE. 20 /me's to make a sandwich can get boring. If you're making the sandwich to begin with, you're being passive. Passive RP - Passive RP is for when there are no events or anything “fun” going on. Passive RP basically means what you would do in everyday life. Eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, these are all examples of Passive RP. Although many of us do not like Passive RP, it will help you become and experienced RPer. RP Wounds - Pain hurts, no matter what you can’t ignore pain (unless you have proper authorization from an admin to have a character that cannot feel pain). Whether you jump off a bridge, get shot, get stunned, or get bit, you will be asked to RP your wound. For example: if you jump off a bridge you will be expected to have your leg(s) broken (depending on the height you may decide what pain your character receives). Clearly you cannot survive jumping off a 1,000 foot bridge so be realistic. If you get stunsticked RP falling to the ground in pain. If you get shot in the body, stop running and fall to the ground. Come on people be logical! Character Background - When you create a character you should be thinking about what the character did before the Combine had invaded. Make the backgrounds realistic and what normal people’s background would be. Example: Yusong J. Leng’s background is that he was a college student studying vehicle mechanics and electrical wiring. Do not create character background such as: Merin Ge is an awesome ex-Assassin who can break someone’s arm with one finger. Character Title - Your character’s title can be used to show a variety of physical looks, but also your mental status. Example: GermanAccent|18|Scars. This shows how your character looks like, his age, and how his voice sounds when he speaks. Your title can also reveal certain items your character may be wearing. Example: SlungMP5|WeldingMask|Scars. This shows what your character may be wearing or what he has on him. TK and PK - TK and PKs are authorized by the Administration Team, essentially 2 RDA's must give their approval towards the killing. When you usually die you spawn again hopefully taking the NLR into effect. However, if you're TKed you can not play on the certain character for a set amount of time. If you are PKed you cannot play that character ever again, you must abide by the TK and PK's and must follow them. Character Actions Technique Sometimes you will see players who just write dialogue with no physical actions or mental standings, this is all right it just isn’t as in depth as it could be. To put your dialogue into further depth you want to put your physical action in front of your dialogue followed by your character’s mental status or sometimes after. Example: Gives a gesture in greeting, “Hello.” He speaks in a blissful tone. To accomplish such dialogue you must learn the uses of /me. Dialogue Dialogue is what your character speaks out. Make sure you watch what you say because someone might hear you when you don’t want them to. Use different dialogue commands such as whisper and yell to add more voice in your dialogue (/w for whisper, /y for yell). Remember to use correct grammar in your dialogue and make sure your sentence makes sense. Read your sentence out loud and make sure it makes sense Physical Actions & Description Use of physical actions just before your dialogue can further implement RolePlay understanding. It will give the other player an insight on your character physical fitness as well as integrating more RolePlay opportunities. Simply with use of /me you can show physical actions. Remember not to powergame. Be realistic in your actions. Description can help players gain a mental image in things that are limited because of the script. Be very descriptive as it shows a key success to ones RolePlay. Mental Thoughts & Feelings Stating your character’s current expression or feeling is a good way to express your character without literally stating it. It will leave other players to study you and get to know your character. Your character’s feelings can change based upon the current situation you’re in. Remember to also be realistic. This is another way to help improve description in your dialogue and /me’s. React When someone starts a conversation or action you’re expected to react to it whether you want to or not. If you do not simply respond you will be viewed upon as a bad RolePlayer who does not know how to carry out reactions. Of course you can ignore newbies who speak OOC in IC. Citizen RolePlay Citizen Role in Half Life 2 RolePlay - The citizen plays a crucial part in HL2 RP. Your main focus on while playing a citizen is to make a living while being oppressed by the Combine. Citizens are in the middle between the Resistance and the Combine. Your citizen character can be malicious and more on the resistance side but don’t go around thinking you’re a “real” resistance member. Your citizen can also be a Combine loyalist who supports and helps the Combine. RolePlaying Opportunities for Citizens ' - RolePlaying a citizen can be boring at times but these are some things you can do to keep the RP going: - Attend ration handouts: Citizens can attend ration distributions which will provide a meal for your citizen character and a couple of tokens to support you. - Try to join different RP groups: There is a wide variety of RP Groups for citizens. RP Groups are a great way to improve a player’s RP and is just plainly fun. - Interact with players around you: Go out and meet new players, develop friendships IC. TnB is here for a fun RP environment so make the best of it! - Build an apartment: Create your own apartment and live in it, invite your IC friends to come live with you. - Hostage RP: Try to take a CP hostage; this will take an endless amount of /me’s and a good CP RPer. (Don't try this unless you know what your doing. ''Gamer.) -Stores: Buy things at a store or make your own store. There are plenty more things you can do with Citizen RP but these are just the basics. - Passive RP: Do some Passive RP, things you would do in normal everyday life. '''Anti-Citizens - Anti-Citizens are citizens who go against Combine Law Code. Anti-Citizens are labeled for prosecution on sight and any citizen(s) who give information that leads to a capture of an Anti-Citizen will be granted permit ration reward. (Be VERY carefull. One guy called me "Father" on my priest IC, and it got me brainwashed. Gamer.) Loyalists ' - Loyalists are citizens who are loyal to the Combine. Whether they were always loyal or had been re-educated, loyalists make up a small minority of the citizen populace. '''Combine Roleplay ' 'Combine Role in Half Life 2 RolePlay ' - The Combine’s role in HL2 RP is to keep the city clean from Anti-citizens and rebellious activity. To join the Combine you must first be an established well RPer so I suggest if you’re new to RP as a citizen for a while until applying for the CCA. 'RolePlaying Opportunities for Combine ' - RPing as a CP may get boring at times so here are some things to get you occupied: - Patrol: Patrol the plaza or other areas with another Unit. - Set up: You can set up the ration distributation center or the CCH. - Search: Search buildings, must get authorization from a higher up before doing so. - Passive RP: Do some Passive RP, things you would do in normal everyday life. 6C. Combine Ranks, Squads, and Order The Combine naming system at Taco and Banana is quite unique. Names function something like this: 'Code: ' CCA.CITY-SQUAD.RANK.DIGITS This results in names such as CCA.C18-UNION.01.32345, or CCA.C18-KING.32345. Knowing these can be very helpful OOCly. Many of these will become second nature to you as you play along. Various ranks also have various models, and you will begin to recognize units through their outward appearance. Ranks - From Low to High RCT - Recruit, or Temporary Unit 04 - Fourth Grade Unit. Essentially a permanent recruit. 03 - Third Grade Unit, the main bulk of the Union, these units have been trusted with more advanced weaponry. 02 - Second Grade Unit. 01 - First Grade Unit. OfC - Combine Officer Unit CmD - Combine Command Unit DvL - Combine Division Leader (will not have a squad association) SeC - Combine Sectorial Command (will not have a squad association) '''Squads UNION - The Combine Socio-maintenance division, these units run ration distribution and govern over the city during times of peace. NOVA - The Combine's first fighting force, these units are called in if there are small anti-citizen breakouts. They enforce the rules if UNION declares a situation unstable. BASTION - This is yet another squad which ensure sociostability in the city. It is currently a new squad so no more information can be added regarding this squad. SHIELD - The CCA's Medical squad, these units are held responsible for the health of the entire Combine Civil Authority. They augment elite units, and are field medics in Combat situations. Occasionally, they may run tests on captured anti-citizens to test drugs. VICE - The Combine Technical Division runs general maintenance on Combine technology and is responsible for designing and creating new Combine weaponry. ARBITER - The current elite sociostability squad of the CCA, composed of handpicked units who have shown ideal roleplaying ability and competence over-all. Note that elites are typically not given ranks, but have authority over an 01/below an OfC; in ARBITER, MOs, or Medical Officers, also exist. GHOST - The Combine Interrogation Division. It is currently undergoing a major revision and therefore not much can be said at this time. JAVELIN - This squad is a long-ranged reconnaissance squad that is trained and skilled in sniping and other tactics. SPECTRE - This squad deals with internal affairs that pop-up. This squad, however, is not on the CCA Roster. Resistance RolePlay Resistance Role in Half Life 2 Roleplay ''' - The resistance brings havoc on the Combine and cause problems in the cities. The resistance wishes to help citizens but usually the Combine stop them. The resistance is for the most advanced RPers and just because you’re in the Outlands doesn’t make you resistance. '''RolePlaying Opportunities for Resistance - The resistance may sound fun but in reality, it has many "minge" players that will stop at nothing to destroy your RP. Roleplay is primarily passive, with the odd slice of action, such as a raid on the Canals/Outlands. Passive RP: ' Do some Passive RP, things you would do in normal everyday life: - Search: Go searching for supplies. - Cook: Depending on your character’s abilities you can RP cooking food. - Fish: Depending on your character’s abilities you can RP catching fish. Action/Reaction '''How to interact with the Combine ' - '''Citizen: Interactions with Combines can be one of the hardest aspects in HL2RP. Even thought it may seem hard at times, it is one of the best aspects as well. There are many different thoughts on how citizens should RP with the Combine, people have said things such as: “Fear them,” “Hate them,” “Love them?” All of these are good thoughts on how to interact but you have to think hard on the background of your character. Some characters may think that the Combine saved earth from its own destruction and love them for protecting them. Others may have lost family members due to the Combine so for that they may hold a grudge. Other characters may hear rumors about the Combine torturing and fear the Combine. Your interaction is clearly all based on IC action. - Rebel: Let’s say you’re a resistance member and you see a Civil-Protection unit that has moved away from his squad and is alone in a dark alley, what do you do? Do you shoot him? Or do you let him live? This is a very good example of what you might encounter when playing as a resistance member. Again your interaction is clearly based on IC, your past plays a role, and so does your morale. If you choose to let the Civil-Protection unit live what was your reasoning? Did you perhaps feel bad for a fellow human being to be caught up with the Combine? Did he/she just join to be well fed and help his/her family? Maybe you fear that if you kill the CP it will alert others and you may be killed. Your reasoning must be dealt with in your action. If you chose to kill him you must have reasoning. What it something in the past that made you hold a grudge to kill? Killing is not an easy thing to do (unless you are a psychopath). - CP: Why am I making an interaction for Civil-Protection units with the Combine, you may ask. It is because you must remember that the Combine is a high branch and Civil-Protection officers are at the bottom (or maybe stalkers are but whatever). I will be focusing on CP units and not OW units mainly because OW units are forced to become part of the Combine. CP units are different because the citizen chooses to become one. So you must have a reason why you want to become a CP unit. Is it possible because you despise how humans are treating each other? Maybe you’re trying to protect those you care about. Your reasoning can be based on IC. How to interact with the Rebels ''' - '''Citizens: It may be even harder for citizens to interact with rebels because there are so many possibilities to react to them. If you’re the kind of citizen that despises the Combine then you will feel that the Rebel’s actions are justified. If you are a follower of the Combine then you will believe that the Rebels are trying to destroy sanity. - Rebel: If you’re with the resistance it may be easy to understand how to interact with fellow Rebels. Treat each other with respect and help each other out, however sometimes this isn’t the case (as I have learned). Some experienced/old resistance members may treat newbies badly, putting them through harsh training and rules. - CP: Again I will not go into any OW discussion about interaction with rebels because OW obvious reaction is to detain/kill any resistance members. CP reactions with Rebels may be difficult because there are again many possibilities. You may fear that you will be killed and hide or you will pursue and call for backup, use whatever continues your IC RP. How to interact with Citizens - Citizens: There are so many different Citizen Interactions with other Citizens and they are some of the best RP. If you’re going to do Passive RP you can go out and make friends with other citizens. Help each other out; you’re both trying to survive through this hard time. - Rebel: You’re trying to protect fellow citizens (not necessarily loyalists however) because they are the future of mankind. - CP: Once again, there are many different outcomes for RP. It depends on both the Civil-Protection officer’s and citizens IC background and morale. Some CPs may view Citizens sympathetically and wish them the best; others may not be as kind because they hold different views.